REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Determine the 2023 Seating Arrangements for City Council
Report
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Council Policy 7.3.11 (Attachment 1) provides a process to determine the seating arrangements of Councilmembers at Council meetings. This procedure is conducted as the last item of business at the meeting during which the Vice Mayor is selected. The Mayor will be seated in the center seat, and the Vice Mayor may choose to be seated to either side of the Mayor. The remaining seats will be selected in order of Council seniority as defined in Council Policy 7.3.11.
Section 3.B. of Council Policy 7.3.11 states, “Councilmembers shall select where they wish to sit on the basis of length of continuous time of service on the City Council. The selection process shall be in the order of most senior to least senior. When two or more Councilmembers have equivalent time of service, those Councilmembers are given priority in seat selection by the highest number of votes received in their most recent election.” Therefore, after selection of the seats to be occupied by the Mayor and the Vice Mayor, the following order is to be used to select the remaining seats:
On December 12, 2022, Justin Jun-Ren Wang filed a request for a Voter Initiated Recount with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters (ROV). On December 27, 2022, the ROV reported the Voter Initiated Recount resulted in a tie between the two candidates. A tiebreaker for City Council District 3 is scheduled for Tuesday, January 3, 2023 (see Attachment 3).
|
Seniority |
Date First Elected |
Councilmember |
No. of Votes Received at Most Recent Election |
Most Recent Election |
|
Most Senior |
11/08/16 |
Russ Melton |
5,670 |
11/03/20 |
|
|
11/03/20 |
Alysa Cisneros |
4,242 |
11/03/20 |
|
|
11/03/20 |
Omar Din |
3,473 |
11/03/20 |
|
|
11/08/22 |
Richard Mehlinger |
3,195 |
11/08/22 |
|
|
11/08/22 |
Murali Srinivasan/ Justin Jun-Ren Wang |
2,814 |
11/08/22 |
|
Least Senior |
|
Linda Sell* |
|
|
*On Aug. 22., City Council appointed Linda Sell to District 1 in lieu of holding an election. Sell will start her term on Jan. 3, 2023 along with the Councilmembers Richard Mehlinger and Murali Srinivasan.
Councilmembers will assume their new seats commencing with the next regular Council meeting.
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 7.3.11. Seating Arrangements/City Council (Attachment 1)
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental, organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
Determining City Council seating arrangements does not have a fiscal impact.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library, Senior Center, Community Center and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and report are available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, Office of the City Clerk, and on the City's website.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Determine the seating arrangements for 2023 in accordance with Council Policy 7.3.11.
Staff
Prepared by: David Carnahan, City Clerk
Reviewed by: Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Council Policy 7.3.11 Seating Arrangements/City Council
2. City Council Seats Diagram
3. Notice of Election Tiebreaker - Council District 3